In 1955, 15-year-old Claudette Colvin stood up for her right to sit where she pleased on a segregated bus. As police forcibly removed her from the bus she kept yelling, “It’s my constitutional right!”
So, why was her story cast aside?
The NAACP considered using her case to advance their cause, but Colvin was a poor and pregnant teenager. Unfortunately, the NAACP didn’t think her story would be appealing.
So, they tapped NAACP secretary Rosa Parks to try the same action. “[Parks] was an adult. They didn’t think teenagers would be reliable,” according to Colvin.
Colvin also reported that Parks’ skin color and hair texture made her a better representation for the NAACP: “Her [skin color] was the kind that people associate with the middle class. She fit that profile.”
Parks went on to become a civil rights icon. But Colvin’s story did not become well-known until decades later!
Both women were crucial to the movement, but unfortunately respectability politics dictated that Colvin’s story was not good enough for white approval. We must know that respectability politics won’t save us and only serves to hide the richness of our community and our humanity.
Like Colvin’s we must know our worth and always stand up for our rights!